19 October 2026
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is opening the Rakhigarhi festival at the ancient Harappan site in Rakhigarhi village, Hansi district, Haryana.
The seven-day festival runs from 19 to 25 October 2026.
It is organised by the Department of Archaeology and Museums with the Hansi district administration.
The Chief Minister will land at a helipad at the stadium, travel from the Rakhigarhi museum to the venue by e-cart, take part in an excavation activity and visit exhibition stalls on the region's archaeological heritage and cultural traditions.
Hansi Deputy Commissioner Rahul Narwal inspected the venue, and officials are arranging seating, drinking water, sanitation, security, traffic management and cleanliness.
The Deputy Commissioner called the festival an important opportunity to showcase Rakhigarhi's historical legacy to a wider audience.
Festival dates:
19 to 25 October 2026
Location:
Rakhigarhi village, Hansi district
Organisers:
Department of Archaeology and Museums with the Hansi district administration
Why it matters for exams: Rakhigarhi is among the largest Harappan sites and its location in Haryana's Hansi district is a frequently asked fact.
UPSC
In plain words
Harappan Harappan Civilisation — The Bronze Age urban civilisation of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra plains, of which Rakhigarhi is a major site.
Background
Haryana's districts are under tightened air pollution enforcement this crop residue season, and the Forest Department's protected area list sets out what the state has to protect.
The list names two national parks, Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon and Kalesar National Park in Yamunanagar, totalling 4824.84 hectares.
It names eight wildlife sanctuaries totalling 23441.17 hectares.
The sanctuaries are Kalesar in Yamunanagar, Bir Shikargah in Panchkula, Chhilchhila in Kurukshetra, Nahar in Rewari, Abubshahar in Sirsa, Bhindawas and Khaparwas in Jhajjar, and Khol Hi-Raitan in Panchkula.
Panchkula is the only district on the list with two wildlife sanctuaries, and Jhajjar is the only other district with two.
The department also recognises conservation reserves, reserve, protected and unclassed forests, and areas under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900.
National parks:
2, totalling 4824.84 hectares
Wildlife sanctuaries:
8, totalling 23441.17 hectares
Districts with two sanctuaries:
Panchkula and Jhajjar
Why it matters for exams: The count and names of a state's national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are among the most directly asked environment facts.
UPSC
In plain words
PLPA Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 — A colonial-era law under which land in Haryana, including Aravalli tracts, is kept from being broken up or built on.
Background
Graded pollution curbs are in force across Haryana's National Capital Region districts this crop residue season, and Gurgaon is one of them.
The Haryana Forest Department's protected area list records Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon district with an area of 142.52 hectares, notified in 1991.
It is the smaller of the state's two national parks.
The other is Kalesar National Park in Yamunanagar, with an area of 4682.32 hectares, notified in 2003.
Sultanpur is therefore about one thirty-third the size of Kalesar.
Together the two national parks come to 4824.84 hectares on the department's list.
Sultanpur National Park area:
142.52 hectares
District:
Gurgaon
Kalesar National Park area:
4682.32 hectares
Kalesar district:
Yamunanagar
Why it matters for exams: Sultanpur is the Haryana protected area most often named in question papers, and its district and area are the two facts asked.
UPSC
Background
Jhajjar, the Haryana district that has placed villages under special surveillance for crop residue burning and is hosting the Agri Leadership Summit at Hasanpur, is also the district with two wildlife sanctuaries on the Forest Department's protected area list.
Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in Jhajjar covers 411.55 hectares and was notified in 1986.
Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Jhajjar, covers 82.70 hectares and was notified in 1987.
Together they come to just under 500 hectares of the state's 23441.17 hectares of wildlife sanctuary.
Bhindawas is the larger of the two by about five times.
The department's list records only one other district, Panchkula, with two wildlife sanctuaries.
Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary:
411.55 hectares, Jhajjar
Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary:
82.70 hectares, Jhajjar
State sanctuary total:
23441.17 hectares
Why it matters for exams: Bhindawas is the Haryana wetland most often named in environment questions, and its district and area are what gets asked.
UPSC
Background
Kurukshetra is one of the five Haryana districts that have offered land for a proposed Indian Institute of Technology, and it is also where the Forest Department's smallest listed wildlife sanctuary lies.
Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary in Kurukshetra covers 28.92 hectares and was notified in 1986.
At that size it is the smallest of the eight wildlife sanctuaries on the department's protected area list.
The largest on the same list is Abubshahar Wildlife Sanctuary in Sirsa, at 11530.56 hectares.
Chhilchhila is therefore well under one per cent of Abubshahar's area.
The other sanctuaries on the list lie in Yamunanagar, Panchkula, Rewari and Jhajjar.
Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary:
28.92 hectares, Kurukshetra
Abubshahar Wildlife Sanctuary:
11530.56 hectares, Sirsa
Sanctuaries on the list:
Eight
Why it matters for exams: Largest and smallest protected areas within a state are a standard comparison question.
UPSC
Background
Haryana's mandis are in the middle of the kharif paddy procurement season, and the Forest Department's own account explains why the crop dominates the state's land.
The department states that about 81 per cent of Haryana's geographical area is under agriculture.
It describes Haryana as one of India's least forested states.
The department recognises reserve forest, protected forest and unclassed forest as its forest categories, alongside protected areas and the Aravalli Project.
It also administers areas notified under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900.
Its protected area list runs to two national parks and eight wildlife sanctuaries.
Area under agriculture:
About 81 per cent of the geographical area
Forest categories:
Reserve, protected and unclassed forest
Protected areas:
Two national parks and eight wildlife sanctuaries
Why it matters for exams: The share of a state's area under agriculture, and its standing as a low-forest state, are the two land-use facts asked about Haryana.
UPSC
In plain words
Aravalli Project Aravalli Project — A Haryana Forest Department programme over the Aravalli tracts in the state's south.
Background
Hisar is one of the five Haryana districts that have offered land for a proposed Indian Institute of Technology, and the district already hosts Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University.
The university became an autonomous institution on 2 February 1970 through a Presidential Ordinance, having begun as a campus of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
The Lok Sabha passed the Act that ratified it on 29 March 1970.
It is named after Chaudhary Charan Singh, India's seventh Prime Minister, and its first Vice-Chancellor was A.L. Fletcher.
The university won the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's Award for the Best Institute in 1997 and holds an A+ grade accreditation from NAEAB of ICAR.
Its colleges include Agriculture at Hisar, Bawal and Kaul, Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Basic Sciences and Humanities, Biotechnology, Fisheries Science, I.C. College of Community Science, and the Centre of Food Science and Technology.
The university describes itself as one of Asia's biggest agricultural universities and credits itself with a part in the Green Revolution and the White Revolution.
Autonomous from:
2 February 1970, by Presidential Ordinance
Act passed by Lok Sabha:
29 March 1970
Named after:
Chaudhary Charan Singh, India's seventh Prime Minister
First Vice-Chancellor:
A.L. Fletcher
ICAR Best Institute Award:
1997
Why it matters for exams: HAU Hisar is the institution most often asked about in questions on Haryana's part in the Green Revolution.
UPSC
In plain words
ICAR Indian Council of Agricultural Research — The apex body for agricultural research and education in India.
Background
Modern dairy is one of the discussion topics at the Agri Leadership Summit being held at Hasanpur in Jhajjar, and the country's dairy research institute stands in the same state, at Karnal.
The ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Its mandate is research and human resource development in dairy production, processing and management.
It runs twelve divisions, among them Animal Biochemistry, Animal Biotechnology, Animal Genetics and Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Animal Physiology, Dairy Chemistry, Dairy Engineering, Dairy Microbiology and Dairy Technology.
It has two regional stations, the Southern Regional Station at Bengaluru and the Eastern Regional Station at Kalyani.
The institute lists 2,000 dairy animals, 100 technologies and a library stock of 10,000.
It offers B.Tech programmes in Dairy Technology, Biotechnology and Food Technology, along with Masters and PhD programmes.
Location:
Karnal, Haryana
Parent department:
Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Divisions:
Twelve
Regional stations:
Bengaluru and Kalyani
Dairy animals:
2,000
Why it matters for exams: NDRI Karnal is the institution asked about whenever a paper touches India's dairy research or the White Revolution.
UPSC
In plain words
DARE Department of Agricultural Research and Education — The department of the Union agriculture ministry under which ICAR institutes work.
Background
The dust and emission curbs now enforced in Haryana's National Capital Region districts reach the same southern belt in which the state's Aravalli-side sanctuaries lie.
The Forest Department's protected area list gives Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary in Panchkula as 767.30 hectares, notified in 1987.
Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Panchkula, is listed with areas of 2226.58 hectares and 2656.38 hectares, notified in 2004 and 2007.
Nahar Wildlife Sanctuary in Rewari is listed at 211.35 hectares, notified in 1987.
Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yamunanagar is listed with areas of 5435.72 hectares and 90.11 hectares, notified in 1996 and 2000.
The department separately administers the Aravalli Project and areas notified under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900.
Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary:
767.30 hectares, Panchkula
Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary:
2226.58 and 2656.38 hectares, Panchkula
Nahar Wildlife Sanctuary:
211.35 hectares, Rewari
Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary:
5435.72 and 90.11 hectares, Yamunanagar
Why it matters for exams: Panchkula's pair of sanctuaries and Nahar in Rewari are the Haryana protected areas most often confused in multiple-choice questions.
UPSC